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Wednesday, 8 January 2014

Heritage and History of Wales - Part 1: North Wales

Within Worcester Cathedral Library
is a captivating and highly intriguing tour of Wales. It can be found in volume VIII of Grose’s Antiquities of England and Wales,
published in 1789. This is a contemporary history of a multitude of fascinating
sites within the counties of North and South Wales.

The author, Francis Grose was
born in 1731 in London.
He was the eldest child of Francis Joseph Grose, a Swiss immigrant and
jeweller, and his wife Anne Benet. Earlier in his career, Grose had success in
the armed forces, but in 1757, he was elected as a member of the Society of
Antiquaries. As a result, he travelled to many parts of England, Scotland,
Wales and Ireland, in
order to collect material for his volumes on antiquary. He died during his
final expedition of this type to Ireland,
and is buried in Dublin.

This blog focuses upon his
discoveries in North Wales, which encompassed the grand castles of Anglesey,
ancient druidical monuments of Denbighshire and enormous standing stones found
in Montgomeryshire.

This is a map of Wales .By permission of the Dean and Chapter of Worcester Cathedral (UK)

Being one of the smallest
counties in Wales at the time, Anglesey’s population numbered only 12,000
inhabitants and despite being “stony and mountainous”, produce from the island
included wheat, cattle, sheep and fish, in addition to copper, mill stones and
red, yellow and blue ochre. Anglesey’s most impressive site was Beaumaris
castle, built in 1295 by Edward I, which, during the English Civil War, was
held for the King until 1649, when it was surrendered to General Mitton. It is
possible, however, that all the riches were buried in preference to being
surrendered to the Roundhead leader, as there have long been suspicions that
large amounts of treasure were concealed both within the vault and the vicinity
of the castle.

On the Welsh mainland, to the
South East of Anglesey was the striking county of Caernarvonshire,
surrounded on three sides by the sea, with “fruitful valleys” and perpetual
snow covered mountains. It contains a multitude of features from Snowdon Hills
to Orme’s Head and DolwyddelanCastle to CaernarvonCastle. Of particular interest
to Grose is Dolwyddelan, built in the year 500, on an ancient road through the
mountains called Helen’s Way (aka Sarn Helen). The birthplace of Llewellyn the
Great and residence of Gryffydd ap Tudor, the castle was later purchased by
Meredydd ap Jevan during the reign of Henry VII. Despite being resided in by
outlaws, Meredydd favoured the castle over his former family residence, as it
was said that relations with his family were so poor, that it was said to be a case of either “kill or be killed”. At
the castle, however, he established a successful garrison, which included “seven
score of the tallest and ablest bows men”.

An engraving of Dolwyddelan. By permission of the Dean and Chapter of Worcester Cathedral (UK)

Of significant Roman and Druid
heritage, the county
of Denbighshire, to the
East of Caernarvonshire, has a variety of Druidical monuments and stones, along
with the remnants of a Roman fortification said to be the camp of Caractacus
and a tomb stone with Roman inscriptions at the Hill of Graves. Additionally,
Denbighshire has a Cistercian abbey dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary called
the Abbey of Valle Cruis, founded in 1200, and is now said to be one of the
best preserved in Wales.

Despite being the smallest
counties in Wales
at the time, Flintshire contained many sites of historical and religious
significance. Most notable is St Winifred’s Well, which is thought to be the
oldest continually visited pilgrimage site in Great Britain, visited since the
7th Century. James II and his wife Mary were among the many
visitors, prompted by Mary’s inability to conceive, and shortly after their pilgrimage
Mary became pregnant with a son. More ominous however, is the locally named
“Stone of Lamentation”, a sandstone monolith, thought to mark the site of
ancient treasure, but apparently with the power to conjure lightning and storms
to deter possible treasure hunters.

A map of Denbighshire. By permission of the Dean and Chapter of Worcester Cathedral (UK)

The county of Merionethshire,
situated on the Irish Sea, to the South of Denbighshire and Caernarvonshire is
described by Grose as “mountainous and unwholesome” and subject to a “livid
fire or vapour”, which caused destruction to land and livestock, prominently
in the years 1542 and 1584. Of particular interest is HarlechCastle, which was of great military
significance for both England
and Wales.
It was Owain Glydwr’s home and military base from 1404 to 1409, and later
was held by the Lancastrian forces for seven years during the Wars of the
Roses, before its siege by the Yorkist troops in 1468. It is now classed as a
world heritage site and regarded as one of the finest examples of 13th
and 14th Century military architecture in Europe.

Grose states that at the time,
Montgomeryshire was the home to a very impressive collection of standing stones
such as those found at Stonehenge in
Wiltshire. They were said to be so large that it would be “hardly possible to
move them with 50 yoke of oxen”. A particularly interesting and unusually site
is DolforwynCastle, due to the legendary origins of
its name. Dolforwyn (Meadow of the Maiden) is thought to allude to Sabra of
Sabrina, the illegitimate daughter of Locrine (a king of ancient Britain). She
was drowned in the River Severn by Gwendolen, Locrine’s wife, following his
death, and she is said to be the inspiration for a poem, reproduced in Grose’s
book, a sample of which is below:

“She guiltless damsel, flying the
mad pursuit,

Of her enraged stepdame Gwendolen

Commended her fair innocence to the flood”

To discover
the mysteries of some of South Wales heritage, read next month’s blog.